Rabbi & Mrs. Yossi Schneerson in honor of Chodesh Adar the month of simchos. May we all merit to share many simchos together.

Together With: Rabbi & Mrs Avrohom Klyne in honor of Rabbi Klyne’s birthday. May he have a shnas hatzlocho begashmiyus ubruchniyus. Rabbi & Mrs. Velvel Tsikman in honor of Rabbi Tsikman’s birthday. May he have a shnas hatzlocho begashmiyus ubruchniyus.

The kiddush for the early minyan is sponsored by:

The Mispallim in the early minyan in honor of the ufruf of Mayan Kerbel. May he be Zoche to build a binyan aday ad.

In Haftorah for this week’s parsha Ki Tisa, we find that Eliyahu HaNavi had an debate with the naviyei of baal. During their confrontation Eliyahu instructed them to build two mizbachos; one for baal and one for Hashem. He called out to the Jewish People, “For how long will you straddle on two sides”. “If you are for baal then go after him, and if you are for Hashen, then go after Him”. They built two mizbachos and then brought two bulls. The naviyei of baal tried but no fire descended to consume their bull. Eliyahu davened at mincha time and then a fire descended from on high and consumed the bull offered to Hashem. When the Yidden saw the fire descend and consume the bull they exclaimed twice; “Hashem Hu EhElokim!”.

This incident begs the question; how could have Eliyahu HaNavi given the Yidden the option to go after baal ח"ו in place of their position of ambivalence? Eliyahu seemed to be saying that constantly juggling between two options is worse than serving baal all the time!?

The Rebbe explains that a person who ח"ו serves avodah zara has a fundamental misconception. From his perspective he has come to believe that the avodah zara has a power that is real. Because of this mistaken viewpoint he is convinced that he must be subservient to that avodah zara . Once he comes to understand that it is a false god, he will have complete regret and do sincere teshuva. This person is connected spiritually already, he simply made a mistake.

The person that juggles between worlds, holding stakes in both sides makes an even more difficult mistake. He knows Hashem is Elokim, the ruler of the world. He also believes that Hashem has “helpers” from whom he can receive ‘additional bonuses’. The center of this perspective is not Hashem or spirituality but himself and his personal gain! From this point of view, with his pursuit of the physical he actually forfeits the spiritual. Also. this kind of orientation makes teshuva much more difficult. He is convinced that he never left Yiddishkeit. As the once popular bumber sticker proudly proclaims; “We never lost it!” He thinks to himself that he was always a believer, and sadly enough that although that may be true, he nonetheless availed himself these ‘extras’ for his own reasons. Even more concerning is his effect on those around him. The one who is gone, is gone. This person however can be an example to others causing them to lead a similar lifestyle as well.

In America people can think that for parnassa, or to ‘with it’ he can put the Shuchan Aruch away, turn his back to make money, and find acceptability among his friends. He thinks to himself, “I am not a 19th century Jew!” If someone questions his activities, he exclaims; “Look at all the good I do”. If you recommend he change, he’ll say that there is nothing wrong with things the way they are. The Rebbe said that he is willing to sell his Yiddishkeit and his neshama to make it.

We need to know that the person who tries to live juggling between both worlds is defining himself in three ways. He is saying that it is OK to be 75 to 90% shomer Torah and Mitzvos. He is placing Hashem, Torah and Mitzvos and Olam Haba on the side ח"ו . He is setting an example towards others for this kind of behavior.

This is what Eliyahu HaNavi taught when he called out to the Yidden; “Until when will you straddle on both sides”, and ultimately brought them to a full and complete recognition that they called out twice; “Hashem Hu HaElokim!”

Mr. & Mrs Milton Goodman for the yahrtzeit of Mrs. Goodman's mother Tzivya bas Moshe Hersh ob"m. May the neshomo have an aliya.

Together With:
Rabbi & Mrs. Michy Rav-Noy in honor of their daughter Roza Devora. May they have only chassidishe nachas from her and their entire family.Mr. Joel Yachzel for the yahrtzeit of his father Chaim ben Yehoshua Zelig Halevi ob"m. May the neshomo have an aliya.

The kiddush for the early minyan is sponsored by:

The Chevra from the 8:20 Minyan in honor of the engagement of their very beloved Michael Zaghi. May he build a banyan adei ad with happiness begashmiyus ubruchniyus.

This week’s parsha is Tetzaveh which discusses the bigdei kehuna, the priestly garments. One of the garments was the meil-the robe. On the bottom edge of the robe were pomegranates made of different types of wool with bells placed in between the pomegranates.

The Ramban explains that the purpose of the bells was to announce the approach of the Kohen Gadol, to receive permission to enter the Heichal, the sanctuary of the King. Entering without permission incurred a penalty Chas v’Shalom.

If the Kohen Gadol needed the pomegranates and bells to enter, why did he enter on Yom Kipper, into the holiest chamber, the Kodesh haKadoshim without the robe? On Yom Kippur Hashem reveals His inner love for the Klal Yisroel. Because of this revelation of Hashem’s intimacy for us we were welcome without notice, and therefore the Kohen Gadol, the representative of Klal Yisroel, entered without the robe. During the rest of the year he wore that vestment as an announcement was necessary.

According to the Ramban, the bells were only a preparation to, not an actual service in the Temple. But since the bells rang throughout the avodah, the Kohen’s service, we must say that they also were part of it as well.

What did the pomegranates specifically symbolize, that they were used on the robe and not some other item? The Gemara explains that the pomegranate symbolizes the Jew far from Torah observance, and says that even the “reikanim shebach- those that are called empty” are full of mitzvos as a pomegranate is full of seeds. The Kohen Gadol served for all of Klal Yisroel, not just for Tzaddikim. The Kohen Gadol serves even for those Yidden who find themselves on the outer edge, the pomegranate on the very bottom of the robe. When someone feels very far from Hashem, when he draws close, it is with crying out and clamor. When someone realizes that he is in danger, he screams without hesitation. The Kohen Gadol represented these Yidden, Baalei Teshuva, with a ‘tummel’, the sound of the bells. With these bells he represented all Yidden from the highest to the lowest.

On Yom Kippur, all Yidden are like Malachim ad stand with Hashem as one, on the level of yechidah. No Jew feels far, all are close and feel Hashem’s intimacy. Therefore no bells are necessary, and the Kohen Gadol’s entry is with “kol dmama daka-with a still silent voice”.

The lesson for us is that we need to go out into the world and find Yidden and draw them close to Hashem and to Yiddishkeit. One might ask though, what is the necessity that it be with clamor and fanfare? The answer is that the time we find ourselves is ‘the period of the shuli ha’meil- the bottom edge of the robe’, ikvasah d’Meshicha. We need to sound the bells to get the attention of those that are profoundly distracted by perspectives, desires and ideologies that are the furthest possible distance from Yiddishkeit. A tummel is necessary just to enable the message to be heard. This is especially true today in an environment where nothing is quiet, there is no shame. To drown out the tummel of the goyishkeit we need to make a tummel in Kedusha. Through this may we merit to hear the “yitaka b’shofar gadol- the sounding of the great Shofar” announcing the arrival of the geula, now mamash!

This week is parshas Termuah which discusses the building of the Mishkan. In the beginning of the parsha the word “terumah-donation” is mentioned three times. The first time is “v’yikchu li termuah- take a donation for Me” which refers to the donation of a ½ shekel for the sockets. The second time is “tikchu termasi- take my donation” which refers to the ½ shekel for the sacrifices. The third mention is “zos haterumah asher tikchu m’eitam- this is the donation you shall take from them” which refers to all the 13-15 materials that were needed for the building of the Mishkan, that were donated in varying amounts.

The Rebbe asks why the verses say “kach-take” when the term “give” seems the more appropriate expression. The Rebbe explains that this refers to the Mikdash within each and every one of us. We need to build an individual Mishkan and Mikdash with three donations. Our three donations are; Torah, Avodah and Gamilus Chasadim.

The first half shekel was used for the sockets. The sockets were the very foundation of the Mishkan. In our life that is the Torah. Without the Torah there is no guidance with which to build the Mishkan (a Jewish home). That is why the Torah says “take”. The letters that spell the word terumah can also spell “Torah ‘mem’”, the wisdom of Hashem (Torah) which was taken in forty (mem) days. When a person learns the Torah and absorbs it in his mind, he is ‘taking’ Hashem, as it says “osi atem lokchim- it is I that you are taking”. This is what is meant by “v’yikchu li- take Me” in our individual Mishkan. Hashem is saying to each of us “Take me home, take the time to become internally united with me through learning my Torah”.

The second donation for sacrifices was called “terumasi-my donation”. In our service of Hashem, the bringing of the animal karbon upon the mizbeach refers to davening, which is kiruv (a karbon) to Hashem. Davening is a time that we arouse closeness to Hashem, a time when we elevate and unite both our soul and body to Hashem. Davening is also similar to a korban in that just like a korban is burnt on the Mizbeach, so too do we ‘burn away’ our personal negativity to get closer to Hashem. While in shul, we daven to Hashem, feeling Him the Master to whom all belongs, and to whom we have a request, in that time of bonding. Just as karbonos served to achieve atonement, offer thanks and push away the opposite of good, so too do we achieve such things by setting aside time for davening.

The donation of various materials for building the Mishkan represents getting involved in the world in various ways and uniting the world with Hashem. In order to build our Mishkan we do not use only our intelligence for Torah and our heart in davening, but we use everything possible to bring Hashem into this physical world, to make it a ‘dira lo Yisborach- a dwelling place for Hashem’. For this donation the words used are “zos haterumah- this is the donation”, the physical item; the wine for Kiddush and the wheat for Matzah etc.. Through the Torah and Tefilla we can recognize the connection to Hashem, but the physical object does not see the connection to Hashem. A Yid can take that object, which is seemingly separate, and unify it with Hashem, and through that making the world a Mishkan for Hashem.

When we learn the parsha of Terumah the Rebbe teaches us how to integrate it into our service of Hashem. Every individual needs to give the three terumos to Hashem; setting aside time for Torah, Teffila and Gemilus Chasadim. With this we build our Mishkan with which Hashem dwells within our minds our hearts and our homes.